Jen and Noah Kahan have a conversation with his single ‘Young Blood’

From the rural solitude of the quiet town of Strafford, VT (Population: 1000), Noah Kahan discovered his penchant for songwriting early on. Long, cold winters in the Vermont backcountry were spent honing his craft in the rolling hills of his family’s 133 acre tree farm. This serene location provided the backdrop for countless adventures that ranged from typical boyhood antics to the more rebellious teenage exploration. The older that Noah got, the more he began to feel the pull of adulthood clash with the familiarity of his adolescence. Drawing heavily from these experiences, Noah’s songs are laced with a youthful wisdom; nostalgia and whimsy taking a back seat to honesty and wit. He meets this conflict head on by acknowledging the loneliness of this new phase of his life coupled with his desire to stay true to himself. Noah’s writing reflects the all too universal feeling of being lost in one’s own backyard and foreshadows the excitement that comes with a leap into the unknown.

Now 20 years old, Noah once again finds himself deviating from the norm. As he follows a dream as old as he can remember, his childhood friends are choosing majors and preparing for more conventional careers. No stranger to feeling lost or isolated, he now chooses to embrace the uncertainty as fuel. The lyrics to his debut single ‘Young Blood’ read as a letter of encouragement and advice to himself as he embarks on this new adventure. He reminds himself to “be surprised, keep hungry.” Throughout unexpected challenges and new revelations, Noah is staying true to his nature; questioning everything and enjoying the ride.

You are from a very small town in Vermont, being an Aussie I have no idea where that is! Can you give us a quick sum up of where and what your hometown is like?

Strafford VT is an idyllic small town of about 1000 people. It’s the kind of town where you will know every person you run into on the street. The people there are so kind and open and the environment is absolutely stunning.

What is your background in the music industry? Was there someone that you knew personally that inspired you to become an artist?

I have zero background in the music industry until now. I was incredibly fortunate to be discovered online by people who I had no clue were watching! I always naively thought I would just become a professional musician someday, even when people told me how unrealistic that was. I guess it wasn’t that unrealistic though

Have you the support from your family and friends that encouraged you to pursue your dream?

My family has been so supportive from the very beginning. Letting me opt out of an education and potentially risk not having a viable career showed me they truly were behind me. However in return is my mom wants credit for all my songs (haha, this was a joke). My friends have supported me through the whole thing but I think some of them thought I was working at a gas station and playing on the side of the road for a while.

I really enjoyed listening to you track ‘Young Blood’ This is a revised version, did you write this song a while ago?

I wrote this song about 8 months ago!

Can you take us back to your writing the song. what was the process like? Was it a quick or slow?

The song was really just a quick burst of emotion and came out of me in like 30-45 minutes. It was one of those rare times where a song just escapes from your soul and onto paper.

Do you like to use someone to bounce off idea’s for or is it completely an individual process?

It really depends on the circumstances. Where I am, whether I’m co-writing or writing on my own, how confident I am in the idea. Sometimes a song that I think is really great is received negatively when I share it and sometimes a song I hate is universally adored by my team!

Tell us behind the meaning of the song so when the song is released our readers know from the get go what it’s connotation is.

Young Blood came to me at a time where I was desperately lonely and depressed, living in Vermont in the dead of a cold cold winter. I had been about 6 months into committing to not going to college and being a musician and I would watch my friends form new connections and live their lives while I felt I was moving in slow motion. The song is a reminder to myself why I am here and how to keep my head on straight when it feels like falling off.

I looked up your facebook page, I usually get loads of info from facebook to ask a million question but you have not posted anything other than a profile pic in over a year! Is this something that you intend on changing? Great way to get your music out there.

Yea everyone’s trying to get me to be more active on social media and that’s something I’m working on. I consider myself an extrovert but have never been one to share everything I’m doing or really show a lot of enthusiasm outwardly about my progress. I promise I’ll try to be more demonstrative!

You are releasing ‘Young Blood’ 27 th January, what are you immediate plans after this?

I’m going to be releasing a few new songs in the coming months, and will be touring as an opener for Milky Chance (who are one of my favorite acts) in March. Stay tuned!